The Law Institute --- "Institute Update" [1997] LawIJV 21; (1997) 71(1) The Law Institute Journal 53

• Update
• LIVI Corporate Lawyers
• CORPORATE LAWYER OF THE YEAR
• CHRISTMAS COCKTAILS
• FORTHCOMING EVENTS
• Family Law Section
• MEMBERSHIP
• LEGAL AID AND FAMILY LAW
• VICTORIAN COLLOQUIUM ON LEGAL AID
• PROPOSAL FOR AN OFFENSIVE
• Specialisation
• RECEPTION FOR NEWLY ACCREDITED SPECIALISTS
• Business Law
• Criminal Law
• Immigration Law
• REMINDERS
• Young Lawyers
• GORDON LEWIS SPEAKERS' TROPHY
• WINNING SPEECH
• ALL ABOUT THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION
• LEGAL FUN RUN AND POWER WALK 1996
• KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH YOUR CLIENTS
• CONSUMER CREDIT CODE
• PROPERTY LAW INQUIRY SERVICE
• LIV Member Services

Update

LIVI Corporate Lawyers

Ian Angus [phone] or Jennifer Brand [phone]

CORPORATE LAWYER OF THE YEAR

We congratulate David Krasnostein who was named Australian Corporate Lawyer of the Year in an awards ceremony sponsored by Corrs Chambers Westgarth at ACLA's annual general meeting in Sydney on 27 November.

David, formerly of Telstra Corporation, is general counsel with the National Aust¬ralia Bank in Melbourne.

When accepting his award at the function held at the Sheraton on the Park, he spoke of the challenges facing corpor¬ate lawyers and senior corporate counsel.

The award was presented by David Miles, national managing partner of Corrs Chamb¬ers Westgarth.

Attendees at the function included new¬ly appointed national president Peter Turner of Fosters Brewing Group, Victorian chapt¬er president Ian Angus of Esso and Vic¬torian chapter vice president Ian Taylor of Pacific Dunlop.

CHRISTMAS COCKTAILS

On 28 November, the Victorian chapter hosted its annual Christmas cocktails at the Rialto Observation Deck.

The function was very successful with 110 corporate lawyers and their guests attending to meet with their colleagues, and enjoy the excellent food and drink and the spectacular view.

James Syme, president of the Law Institute, was ACLA's guest at the function.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

At the time of going to print, the fol¬lowing events have been scheduled for 1997:

February: Mediation seminar

March: Insolvency seminar, ACLA national conference in Sydney

April: Corporate fraud seminar.

We look forward to seeing you at these events. If you would like details of the seminars or other information regarding ACLA please contact Ian Taylor of Pacific Dunlop on [phone].

Family Law Section

Rosanna Stefanetti [phone] or Linda Porteous [phone]

MEMBERSHIP

The Section is active in providing con¬tinuing professional legal education, mak¬ing submissions to parliamentary and law reform commissions, liaising with the Family Court on matters of practice and procedure and disseminating information on current issues to members.

To join, write to Rosanna Stefanetti, secretary, Family Law Section, DX 350 Melbourne or GPO Box 263C, Melbourne 3001.

LEGAL AID AND FAMILY LAW

The Section held a legal aid crisis meet¬ing on 26 November.

Members of the Section, judiciary and the Family Law Bar were invited to discuss legal aid funding of family law matters in Victoria.

Legally aided family law litigants have been faced with:

• " the imposition of retrospective costs caps;
• cost caps that could well be inadequate; severely restricted funding of child rep¬resentatives;
• the refusal by Victoria Legal Aid to fund child representatives where neither party is aided; and
• the refusal by Victoria Legal Aid to fund any more than half of a child repre¬sentative's costs where only one party is aided.

VICTORIAN COLLOQUIUM ON LEGAL AID

The colloquium was attended by a significant group of 28 people comprising Law Institute representatives; the Vict¬orian Attorney-General, Jan Wade; Robert Cornall of VLA; Peter Royston and Judith Pierce from the Family Law Section; Family Law Bar representatives; and representatives from criminal, pro bono and other interest groups.

The objectives of the colloquium in¬cluded consideration of what could be done to improve the ways in which legal aid services are financed and offered, and the sending of a powerful, incisive and balanced view on the impact of the cuts to legal aid in Victoria to the national col¬loquium in Canberra on 27 November.

PROPOSAL FOR AN OFFENSIVE

In November, Section representatives discussed with the Family Court a pro¬posal to decrease the number of cases awaiting pre-hearing conferences.

The proposal put to the Court by the Section was to establish an "Offensive" similar to that of the Supreme and County Courts.

The Offensive would involve contacting practitioners and advising them of an alternative system whereby a matter await¬ing pre-hearing conference can be referred to a conciliator. The conciliator would be chosen by the parties from a panel list of conciliators.

The incentive in having the matter referred to a conciliation will be that if the matter settles, the Court will fast track the orders, and if it fails, the case will be put back on the list without losing priority.

Specialisation

Graeme Mills [phone] or Bernadette Forbes [phone]

RECEPTION FOR NEWLY ACCREDITED SPECIALISTS

Specialisation is playing a major role in building client confidence and enhancing the reputation of the legal profession, according to Chief Justice Phillips of the Victorian Supreme Court.

Speaking at a reception held to welcome 31 newly accredited specialists, Chief Justice Phillips said that with confidence in their own knowledge, specialists were able to work more speedily and economic-ally, increasing their workflow while keeping down the costs to clients.

Just as importantly, specialisation pro¬vided an avenue for personal development, he said.

At the reception held at the Snail 'n Bottle on 18 November, Chief Justice Phil-lips presented certificates of specialist accreditation in Immigration Law, Business Law and Criminal Law following examinations held in the second half of 1996.

He congratulated the successful candi¬dates and commended the Law Institute for its efforts in establishing and main¬taining the Specialisation Scheme.

The reception was attended by new specialists and family members, represent¬atives of the Specialisation Board and advisory committees, and specialists accredited in earlier years.

Institute president James Syme also congratulated the new specialists and urged them to use their accreditation to promote themselves and their fellow specialists in the competitive world of legal practice. He affirmed the Institute's strong support for the Specialisation Scheme in the coming years under the new arrangements for regu¬lation of the profession.

Paul Staindl, chairman of the Special¬isation Board, paid particular tribute tothe members of the advisory committees who worked on the assessment programs. Under chairmen Michael Clothier (Immigration Law), Rod Jones (Business Law) and David Grace QC (Criminal Law), the committee members gave an extra-ordinary amount of their time to work on the assessment programs.

Mr Staindl also noted with pleasure the increase in the number of family members who were accompanying the newly accred¬ited specialists to the informal ceremonies at which certificates are presented.

Advisory committee members are listed below:

Business Law

Rodney Jones (chairman), Secombs; Andrew Goulopoulos, Goulopoulos Shiels & Mangopoulos; Glenn Hodges, Home Wilkinson & Lowry; Sara Jholl, Nicholas O'Donohue & Co; Goolam Laher, Abbott Stillman & Wilson; James McCarthy, McCarthy & Associates; Joseph Rose, solic¬itor; Richard Calver (principal examiner), Victorian Farmers Federation.

Criminal Law

David Grace QC (chairman), barrister and solicitor; James Cahill, Cahill Consult ants; Stephen Devlin, Office of the DPP; Susanne McKenzie, solicitor; Peter Murphy, Warren Graham & Murphy; Peter Randles, Peter Randles & Co; Peter Ward, Galbally & O'Bryan; Dr Chris Corns (principal examiner), Victorian Bar; John E Willis (examiner), LaTrobe University.

Immigration Law

Michael Clothier (chairman), Erskine Rodan & Associates; Paul Baker, Baker & Arm-strong; Harry Grossman, solic¬itor; Maria Jockel, Godfrey Stewart; Clare Morton, VIARC; Erskine Rodan, Erskine Rodan & Associates; David Stratton, Nevett Ford; Dr Mary Crock (principal examiner), Sydney University.

REMINDERS

Under consideration

• Taxation Law
• Industrial Relations/Employment Law
• Call [phone] to record your expression of interest in accreditation in these areas of practice or e-mail graeme_ mills@livmelb.m&.compuseme.com
• Applications
• Property Law
• Personal Injury Law
• Environmental, Planning & Local Gov¬ernment Law
• Arbitration
• Closing date:1 April 1997.

Young Lawyers

Rosanna Stefanetti [phone], Darren Hogeboom [phone] or Ingrid Leighton [phone]

GORDON LEWIS SPEAKERS' TROPHY

"Whatever you're doing and wherever you are going, just walk quickly and carry something." This was the advice given to Adrian Anderson the night before he start¬ed articles at Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

However, Adrian - like many other young lawyers in the same boat - was quick to discover that there was much more involved in meeting the challenges of being a lawyer today.

Ambition, concentration, patience, a sense of humour, diligence, integrity and a moderate amount of alcohol (as long as you stay more sober than your clients! - a comment made by Richard Kervin of Perillo Adami & Frank in his speech) were listed at the 10th annual Gordon Lewis Speakers' Trophy competition as some of the requirements for meeting the challenges facing young lawyers

The competition, run by the Young Lawyers Section, was held at the Institute on 12 November and was a huge success.

Nine speakers participated and Justice Hampel, Judge Lewis and David Denby acted as adjudicators. No doubt they had a difficult decision to make.

Edwina Curzon-Siggers of Lander & Rogers was awarded first prize, winning $1000 and an Australian Advocacy Inst¬itute course worth $450.

Second prize went to Nick Harrington of Dunhill Madden Butler who won $300 and an advocacy course. Richard Moshinsky of Phillips Fox took out third prize, winning Melbourne Theatre Company tickets and $200. A big thank you to all those who helped organise the night and to the Australian Advocacy Institute and Melbourne Theatre Company for their generous sponsorship.

Sharon Theedar

Articled clerk, Goddard Elliott

WINNING SPEECH

Below is an extract from the winning speech by Edwina Curzon-Siggers on the topic "Challenges facing young lawyers today".

"Your first challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to master trial procedure.
"You've finally made it onto a big case. The partner showed you the file for the first time on the way to court and now you're `instructing'.
"It's day 15. His Honour is in his element. The barrister for the other side is commencing his examination-in-chief of witness number 27. The hands of the clock are moving particularly slowly. You sus¬pect the sound of snoring may be coming from the judge's associate.
"As you listen, suddenly, from the far recesses of your brain, yes, it's all coming back to you now; final year law, evidence and procedure, Justice Hampel's advocacy course - leading questions!
"Yes, the barrister for the other side is asking a leading question! And there's more! If you're not mistaken, the barrister is - leading evidence from the Bar table! You can hardly believe your luck. At least you actually have something to say to your counsel! Unfortunately your barrister is - ASLEEP!
"Your razor sharp intellect turns at once to the procedural implications.
"Which rule deals with waking up a barrister in mid-trial? And most import¬antly, how do you bring counsel back to consciousness without alerting the client, who is sitting in court, that the skilled professional who he is paying $3000 a day has just DOZED OFF!
"That is your challenge.
"Luckily you have - THE BOOK!" [Edwina raises book into the air.]
"Yes, the Annotated Rules of Court 1996 - the poor man's Williams. This humble tome will resolve the trickiest procedural problem. Fortunately you have brought the book with you to court that day. It is sitting conspicuously on the Bar table. You consult the book. You drop the book." [Loud thud.]
"Your barrister leaps to his feet! And from his lips spring the words which he utters as a reflex action every morning upon rising. `Your Honour, I must object!' The case is saved.
"The challenge has been met and overcome."

ALL ABOUT THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

All solicitors and articled clerks under the age of 37 years and practitioners with fewer than five years experience in practice are eligible to join. Membership is free!

The Section has five committees:

Executive

This committee includes the chairs of each of the following committees, and generally oversees the running of the Section.

Professional Development

Members of the Professional Develop¬ment Committee organise a series of sem¬inars on various aspects of the law in an effort to develop better standards for legal practitioners.

They have also been involved in the production of Articles on Articles, a booklet designed to give law students an insight into what can be expected on commencing articles with a law firm.

Community Issues

The aim of this committee is to provide a forum where members can become more aware of current legal issues of concern to the community.

This is often carried out through the presentation of seminars. A Multi-Media, Telecommunications and Competition sub-committee has been recently estab¬lished with the intention of providing seminars in this area.

Editorial

The prime function of this committee is to produce the quarterly Young Lawyers journal for members of the Section.

The publication informs members of YL events and gives younger solicitors the opportunity to exercise their writing tal¬ents while expressing the views of younger members of the profession.

This committee also plays a major part in the organisation of the Gordon Lewis Speakers' Trophy competition.

Marketing

This is a very enthusiastic group of people who are willing to call organisations to ask them to support YL activities.

In an effort to coordinate all sponsor-ship activities, sponsorship is sought on behalf of all YL committees.

Social activities

The Section organises a number of social and CLE activities throughout the year. These may include:

• Young Lawyers' annual lecture series;
• Legal Fun Run and Power Walk;
• Young Lawyers' Ball;
• Gordon Lewis Speakers' Trophy;
• multi-media, telecommunications and competition seminars;
• Christmas party/cocktails evening; ski trips;
• winery tours; and
• careers seminars.

If you would like to join the Section, or be an active member of one of the Section's committees, please call the Section administrator, Darren Hogeboom on [phone].

LEGAL FUN RUN AND POWER WALK 1996

On 2 December 1996, the Legal Fun Run & Power Walk celebrated its sixteenth birthday!

The event was proudly sponsored by Phillips Fox, Minter Ellison, LawPoint, City Club Health & Fitness Centre, Grand Hyatt, Melbourne and the Young Lawyers Section.

In the early days the event took place at Albert Park Lake, attracting 50-150 com¬petitors. Today, numbers are close to 300. This year the event was staged by a team from Super Sprint Promotions and attract¬ed 270 enthusiasts from the ranks of students, articled clerks, solicitors, bar¬risters and other staff from legal firms and corporate solicitors.

After attending a warm-up session by the City Club Health & Fitness Centre, runners completed two laps of the Tan Track at the Botanical Gardens (7.6 km) and walkers one lap.

For several years now the guest starter of the event has been Justice MacDonald, a former chairman of the council of the Victorian Amateur Athletics Association and president of the Australian Athletics Union. As a student of law at Melbourne University, His Honour set a record with his 9.9 second 100-yard dash.

The winners in their categories were as follows:

Runners

First solicitors' team: Arnold Bloch Leib¬ler ABL1 team: Michael Schoutetan, Henry Lanzer and Philip Chester. Also the winners of the Hartog Berkley Shoe Trophy (awarded to the faster of either the first solicitors' team or the first barristers' team).
First banisters' team: Nil.
First male: Glen Tooze, Deacons Graham & James.
Second male: Mark Purvis, barrister. Third male: Nick Luxton, Middletons Moore & Bevins.
First female: Lisa Lightfoot, Coltmans Price Brent.
Second female: Catherine Turnbull, Deac¬ons Graham & James.
Third female: Celia Farmer, Phillips Fox. First under 30: Glen Tooze, Deacons Graham & James.
30-39: Mark Purvis, barrister.
40-49: Les Mollard, Coltmans Price Brent. 50-59: Graeme Morris, Supreme Court, Senior Masters Office.
Over 59: Ben Morrey, BJB Morrey Solic¬itors.

Walkers

First home: Cathy Kakaris, Phillips Fox. First under 30: Glenda Riddiford, Phillips Fox.
30-39: Michelle Murphy, Mahlab Recruit¬ment.
40-49: Marion Crook, Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks.
50-59: Anne Entink, Aughtersons.

The Section thanks John Macmillan, solicitor at Phillips Wilkins, for his support this year. The assistance provided by Jason Newman, Elliot Papegiorgiou, Richard Kervin, Sarah Matheson, Fiona Griffiths and Heather Hibberd of the Young Lawyers Section and particularly Ingrid Leighton, Marica Peraic and Darren Hogeboom of the Law Institute is much appreciated.

LIV Member Services

Rina Harber [phone]

KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH YOUR CLIENTS

As a service to its members, the Institute produces a quarterly Client Newsletter to help you:

• keep your firm's name in front of clients (even when you are not acting for them);
• maintain regular communication with clients;
• inform clients of changes in the law; alert clients to the type of services you can provide; and
• cross-sell your services.

The Client Newsletter has been available for use by Victorian legal firms for ten years and subscriptions keep increasing. Now over 20,000 clients of legal firms receive each issue.

It is a six page, two colour publication written in plain English and in a style that we hope your clients will find easy to read. It is sold in bundles of 50 for $25 with a 10 percent discount for a full year's sub¬scription and more generous discounts for large orders.

Many firms arrange to have the News-letter overprinted with their firm logo and details while others receive it on disk and publish directly onto their letterhead.

At only 50 t per client, the Newsletter is a very economical marketing and com¬munication tool for your firm. It is also a much more cost-effective option than producing your own newsletter. However,if you already have a firm newsletter you may also wish to use the Institute's.

Many practitioners also find this pub¬lication an effective method of keeping up to date themselves.

The summer edition contains articles on:

• pool safety: compliance with the Build¬ing Regulations 1994;
• compulsory retirement;
• _ council liability for negligent telephone advice;
• how the Family Court adjusts super¬annuation;
• Prohibited Firearms Act 1996;
• Heritage Act 1995;
• F- Road Safety (Wheel-clamping) Act 1996; 1 Sydney 2000 Games (Indicia and
• Images) - The Protection Act 1996;
• Claims made by sellers of small bus
• inesses.

The autumn edition will be published in mid-March 1997.

If you would like a complimentary copy or would like to take out a subscription, contact the Institute Bookshop on [phone].

The Client Newsletter is produced by the Institute's Marketing Department, tel [phone].

CONSUMER CREDIT CODE

The Consumer Credit Code finally commenced on 1 November 1996.

All practitioners need to be aware of the significant changes made by the Credit Code and the Consumer Credit Code Regulations 1995 and their implications for both borrowers and lenders. The Code and regulations include stringent require¬ments in relation to credit documents.

The following forms are available from the Institute Bookshop for members: 'I Mortgage of land - Approval No 6599610A. (Note: The notes on page 2 of this form are for information only and should not be lodged at the Land Titles Office).

Al Memorandum of common provisions No AA542.

Regulated credit contract for repay¬ment of interest only at fixed rate and principal on maturity (Part A: Pre contractual statement; Part B: Con¬ditions and instructions).

ml Regulated credit contract for repay¬ment by instalments of principal and interest at variable rate (Part A: Pre-contractual statement; Part B: Condit-ions and instructions).

Guarantee and indemnity agreement instruction booklet for Credit Code documents: credit contracts, mortgage and guarantee. The booklet includes sections entitled "When to use the Credit Code documents" and "When the Consumer Credit Code does not apply".

PROPERTY LAW INQUIRY SERVICE

The correct telephone number for the Property Law Inquiry Service is [phone].

Members are welcome to ring the Ser¬vice on that number at any time between loam and 1pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

At other times a message can be left or urgent calls can be directed to a rostered Property Committee member between loam and fpm on Mondays and Tuesdays.

LIV Member Services

Arbitrator/Mediator nominations (03)	9607	9388	Libran ... (03)	9607	9360
Continuing Legal Education (03)	9607	9377	Meetings and conferences (03)	9607	9327
Costing service ; (03)	9607	9405	Members' lounge (03)	9607	9327
Dispute Resolution Committees Property (03)	9607	9382	Settlement area		9333
			Snail 'n Bottle restaurant (03) 9607
Small Business (03)	9607	9380
Ethical advice (03)	9607	9425
			Industrial relations and award inquiries (03)	9607		9411	PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Law Institute Journal (03)	9607	9339	LawCare (03) 9416		0607
Legal Industry Superannuation Scheme (03)	9607	9397	Senior Counsellors (03) 9607		9346
Legal referral service (03)	9607	9353	Members Advocate (03) 9607		9413
Locum register (03)	9607	9411
Management advice (03)	9607	9350
Marketing advice (03)	9607	9464	PRODUCTS
Media relations (03)	9607	9373
			available from the Bookshop (03) 000% .9315
Nanny share register (03)	9607	9346
			Acts and Rules LIV seminar papers
Property law inquiries (03)	9607	9378
Sections			Client Newsletter LIV ties
Administrative Law (03)	9607	9379	Commercial leases Law Institute Diaries
Commercial Law (03)	9607	9379	Developing a business plan Legal Guide for Small Business
Criminal Law (03)	9607	9382	Home ownership Legal Secretary's Handbook
Employee Solicitors (03)	9607	9422	Journal binders Specialisation past exams
Family Law (03)	9607	9383	Kentuck legal prints Trust account stationery
Legal Practice Management (03)	9607	9340
Litigation Lawyers (03)	9607	9383	COMMERCIAL BENEFITS
Property and Environmental Law (03)	9607	9382
			Solicitors Mortgage Practice (03)	9607	9382	BP Plus itielcards [phone]
Young Lawyers (03)	9607	9385	Discounts and travel concessions [phone]
Specialisation (03)	9607	9462	Law Institute Gold Visa card [phone]